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Review
. 2023 Apr 12;11(4):1010.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11041010.

Infection Induced Fetal Inflammatory Response Syndrome (FIRS): State-of- the-Art and Medico-Legal Implications-A Narrative Review

Elena Giovannini  1 , Maria Paola Bonasoni  2 , Jennifer Paola Pascali  3 , Arianna Giorgetti  1 , Guido Pelletti  1 , Giancarlo Gargano  4 , Susi Pelotti  1 , Paolo Fais  1
Affiliations
Review

Infection Induced Fetal Inflammatory Response Syndrome (FIRS): State-of- the-Art and Medico-Legal Implications-A Narrative Review

Elena Giovannini et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS) represents the fetal inflammatory reaction to intrauterine infection or injury, potentially leading to multiorgan impairment, neonatal mortality, and morbidity. Infections induce FIRS after chorioamnionitis (CA), defined as acute maternal inflammatory response to amniotic fluid infection, acute funisitis and chorionic vasculitis. FIRS involves many molecules, i.e., cytokines and/or chemokines, able to directly or indirectly damage fetal organs. Therefore, due to FIRS being a condition with a complex etiopathogenesis and multiple organ dysfunction, especially brain injury, medical liability is frequently claimed. In medical malpractice, reconstruction of the pathological pathways is paramount. However, in cases of FIRS, ideal medical conduct is hard to delineate, due to uncertainty in diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this highly complex condition. This narrative review revises the current knowledge of FIRS caused by infections, maternal and neonatal diagnosis and treatments, the main consequences of the disease and their prognoses, and discusses the medico-legal implications.

Keywords: causal link; fetal inflammatory response syndrome; medical liability; medico-legal compensation; placental pathology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of eligible articles found for narrative review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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